I Will Always Be Me
by kitty132383
Summary: A one-shot collection of different characters.
1. James Potter I

**A/N: Written for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge. Honestly, this is probably one of the hardest characters for me to write, and it turned out way longer than I expected too. But enough of that. Have fun reading :)**

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5 times he fell love with her, and 1 time he didn't

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**1.** James was a bundle of nervous energy. Although he didn't show it outwardly, he felt like his stomach was revolting against him. But he still had a reputation to keep so he fixed his confident smile in place and tried to relax his stiff posture. A long way ahead of him, the Sorting hat began calling out names.

It was as he was straining to see the front of the line that he noticed her. The bright red hair made it easy to spot the temperamental girl that had been in his compartment… Lily, if he recalled correctly. She was standing near the front of the line looking cool and collected. Cast in the light of the candles, she looked almost ethereal.

James felt his heart start to beat faster.

* * *

**2. **The first time he worked courage to ask her out was in their second year. It was a dark and gloomy winter day when he stood up abruptly and yelled out loud, "Lily Evans, will you go out with me?"

Everyone in the Great Hall stilled, and then swivelled their heads to watch the girl's reaction. What would the muggleborn witch say to the handsome heir of a pure blooded family? Everyone was curious, to say the least. The answer to that question was that she stood up and, after a tension filled pause, yelled, "No!" at him. The door to the Great Hall shut as she promptly left soon after.

As James slumped down into his seat, Sirius leaned over to him.

"She thinks you're a git, you know," he whispered in the silence that followed, "That's why she won't date you, no matter how much money you have."

The depressed boy considered this thoughtfully, and then a small smile slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.

"Well then," he said, "I'll just have to prove her wrong won't I?"

* * *

**3. **Their prank had gone too far.

Lily stood at the entrance to the common room, frozen in shock and completely soaked to the bone. And that wasn't even the worst of it. Her favourite white blouse that she had worn to Hogsmeade was now utterly stained and ruined, not to mention the feathers that stuck to her body from a layer of honey. Her green eyes were wide and uncomprehending.

James was also frozen. The prank was supposed to his the first person to walk through the common room, but he never expected it to be Lily! He was torn between apologizing and cringing away from her. After all, her temper was infamous through the school.

Before he could do anything, Lily had already walked past him in silence, with not even a glare in his direction. The sound of a door shutting echoed through the quiet common room. That seemed to snap her friends out of whatever trance they were in because they jolted slightly, and then hurried after the girl while shooting nasty looks at him.

From behind him, his friends were also coming out of their shock.

"Bloody hell…" Sirius swore softly.

Remus regarded James with a stern look. "You should let her cool down a bit, then go apologize," he advised.

James nodded numbly, and stumbled to an armchair near the fireplace. His friends hung around with him for a bit before leaving him to wait for Lily to come down. James couldn't help be glad that there was no one around to see that disastrous prank. The majority of the Gryffindor's were still down in Hogsmeade, enjoying themselves.

An hour and a half later, a freshly showered Lily came down the stairs to her dorm.

"Lily-" James called, lurching quickly to his feet. The girl's eyes swept around the room as if there was nobody inside.

She began to walk to the door. James intercepted her.

"I-Lily, just hear me out!" He said in frustration, "Please, I-I didn't mean it and I didn't want to humiliate you, well, the prank… but it wasn't supposed to be you!"

By then, he was clasping her hands in between his and had gotten down on his knees in front of her. "Please forgive me!"

That beat of silence was the most agonizing moment in his life. He had been expecting the worst, but then, she sighed.

"Don't think you're going to get away with this Potter!" She growled before stomping off.

James blinked. Then, he sat back on his haunches and let out a relieved and happy laugh. What she said, in Lily-talk, translated to: Fine, I forgive you.

After that, he fell back onto the carpet with a soft thump. A giddy smile appeared on his face as he stared at the ceiling. _'What an amazing woman,' _he thought happily.

* * *

**4. **"Evans, will you go out with me? There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up."

"How many times do I have to say no for you to understand that _I don't want to go out with you_."

"Come on, it's not like you have any plans!"

Lily snapped James an irritated scowl. "I do have plans, thank you very much!"

James raised an interested eyebrow. "Oh? What are you doing then? Studying? Hanging out with your friends? You're not going to be with _Snivellous _are you?"

That was the last straw.

She slammed her textbook shut and jabbed a finger into James's chest. "Listen up you irritating toe-rag! What I do is none of your business! In fact, I could go on a date with Severus and you wouldn't be able to do a thing!" With that last word, she grabbed her books and left the common room.

James turned to grin at his friends. "She wouldn't date Snivellous," he said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Alice called from across the room, "She's been talking to him more and more lately."

That comment stopped James in his tracks.

And so, the morning of the weekend dawned bright and early. James, in his dorm, called a Marauder's meeting.

"What's this about James?" Sirius asked.

"We have to make sure that Lily really isn't meeting anywhere with Snivellous!" James said seriously, "I'm fairly certain she's still in the girl's dorm. We'll have to use the cloak to follow her.

Sirius winced and sent James and apologetic look. "Sorry, but I've got a date with Marlene today…"

"Pete and I are studying for exams," Remus inputted, "Not all of us can be natural geniuses like you two."

James sighed, disappointed, but reluctantly nodded in acceptance. "I'll tell you how it goes," he promised.

The four friends nodded at each other and then separated.

James threw the invisibility cloak over his body and crept down to wait in the common room, taking care not to bump into anybody. He stood by the fireplace, watching the stairs to the girl's dorms. It didn't take long for Lily to come down.

She walked calmly into the room. James instantly zeroed in on her as she hefted a bag over her shoulders. She didn't look like she had anything to hide, but still…

She walked out of the door and down the hallway. Finally, she stopped in front of the library. James crept after her, narrowly avoiding hitting a chair, and watched as she sat down at the same table of a nervous looking Hufflepuff. Okay, now he was curious. Why would she sit beside the girl if there were other empty tables?

But nothing special happened. Lily just took out her books and spoke quietly with the girl. James couldn't really make out what was being said; he was too far away. So he stood there for another half hour before he realized what she was doing.

She was tutoring the Hufflepuff!

He felt like smacking his head against something. The wall, preferably. With a rueful smile on his face, he turned and left the library.

* * *

**5. **James was seriously scared for Lily's life.

Everyone in the hallway had already cleared out when they saw Lily berating a bulky, seventh year Slytherin. Everyone except him, that is. He hovered a few feet back, wondering what he should do.

Lily and the Slytherin were currently staring each other down, neither giving an inch. James could swear that he hadn't seen them blink in a while now.

With the war going on, it wasn't safe to take on a Slytherin alone. Especially with tensions running high. (Of course, this didn't apply to the Marauders.)

Then, after an eternity, the balance was broken. The Slytherin turned away, but not before sending this girl on last glare. Lily watched his back until he rounded the corner before glancing back at him and raising an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked.

James let out a silent breath of relief and grinned.

"Nothing."

* * *

**1. **He didn't have a problem with Snape.

Okay, maybe a tiny one, but that was because he was friends with Lily and she didn't hate his guts. But as far as Slytherins went, he wasn't that bad. So, James felt a slight vindictive pleasure when Lily stopped speaking to him after the "Mudblood calling" incident. It had been days since she had even looked at Snape and her attitude had warmed to him a bit too!

But then those days turned into weeks.

And those weeks turned to months.

James was getting uneasy, but he wasn't sure why. He had seen Snape following Lily around recently, apologizing profusely. She simply ignored him. It didn't take genius to see that Snape really felt sorry for what he said, but Lily wouldn't listen to a word he said.

It was a strange experience to say the least.

By the time they were about to get onto the train, Sirius asked a question he never would've thought of.

"Is there anything about Lily you _don't _like?"

James faltered, considering. Sirius blinked at him, and sent him a questioning look.

He never answered the question.


	2. Frank Longbottom

Remember

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There are times when he almost remembers.

There will be a fluttering at the corner of his mind and he will hear a baby crying, see blonde hair and a chubby face. But almost remembering is painful, so when a curtain falls over his head, he welcomes the blessed blankness.

He wanders out of his room and into a hallway. He thinks he's searching for something, but he's not sure what. Walking aimlessly, he almost bumps into a person rounding the corner.

The boy is young, with chubby cheeks and a plain face. He looks a bit startled to see him and opens his mouth to say something.

He silently watches the boy in front of him, not processing his words. Instead, he steps forward and wraps his arms around him, not sure why himself. He misses the pained look spreading across his face.

When he steps back again, the boy takes his hand and walks him back to the dorm. He follows obediently.

_They say the body remembers when the mind forgets. _


	3. Narcissa Black

The First Flower

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Five year old Narcissa Black was pouting.

She sat petulantly on Andromeda's bed, arms crossed and face stormy. You could tell that she was about to throw a full blown tantrum soon. Across from her, Bellatrix and Andromeda were communicating silently with their eyes.

_You deal with her._

_No, _you _deal with her._

It was clear who lost their little competition when Andromeda sighed and opened her mouth to speak. "Cissy, what's wrong?"

Narcissa simply puffed out her cheeks a little more. "My name is Libra now, not Narcissa."

The two older sisters stared at her, bewildered. Then, Bellatrix let out a short, harsh laugh. Narcissa's eyes started tearing up.

Andromeda glared at her in a _'Look what you've done now' _sort of way, and lightly shoved her shoulder in reproach. Bellatrix, however, wasn't expecting the attack and nearly tumbled off the bed as a result. Narcissa's mood took a complete 360 as she giggled at her sister's misfortune. This elicited a small smile from Andromeda as she, too, tried not to laugh.

Bellatrix steadied herself and her eyes glowered in anger and embarrassment. Grabbing a nearby pillow, she swung it at Narcissa's head. The girl's eyes widened and she ducked just in time… for the pillow to hit Andromeda.

The brunette sat stock-still. Then she smiled murderously. Without another moment's hesitation, she hit her younger sister square in the face

It wasn't long before a pillow war started.

The sound of the three girl's laughter echoed through the room and down the empty hallways of the Manor. They continued play-fighting for a while, neither of them getting an advantage for too long. Andromeda's bed sheets were getting twisted and crumpled, but the sisters didn't care, for once. Finally, they exhausted their energy and collapsed together on the bed. Andromeda shifted her head slightly to peer at Narcissa.

"Cissy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to change you name?"

Narcissa scrunched up her eyebrows in though. She could barely recall why she had been so upset earlier.

Her eyes widened as she remembered. "It's because… I'm the only one who has the name of a flower," she muttered, "You and Bella and Mum and Dad all have star names."

Andromeda paused, not sure exactly what to say. To her surprise, she realized she could hear Bellatrix responding.

"Do you know the Narcissus flower is the first one to come out after the winter?" Bellatrix asked, staring at the ceiling. "The flower knows that the storm has passed and it can be safe to come out again. So the other flowers follow its lead and come back out too."

Narcissa stayed quiet, processing her words. For a moment, their breathing was the only sound to be heard in the room.

"So," Andromeda asked, breaking the silence, "Do you still want to change your name to Libra?"

Narcissa shook her head furiously. Andromeda laughed, and then turned twinkling eyes in Bellatrix's direction.

"And since when were you such a flower expert?" She teased, "I thought it was a 'girly' activity?"

Bellatrix huffed and turned away.

Once more, the sound of happy laughter rang through the room.


	4. Susan Bones

My Secret

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There were exactly three times in her life she wanted to harm someone.

The first person was Hermione Granger. Susan had been watching her crush, Neville, from afar when it occurred to her that he had a slight crush on the girl from Gryffindor. The rush of hatred and malice that rushed through her body had shocked her into stillness. Susan had withdrawn from the library, shaking and suddenly feeling very unsure of herself.

The second time it wasn't a person, but a group of people. Death-Eaters. After her beloved aunts' death, Susan often found fantasized about how she would take them down. She couldn't do it by herself, of course, but it would so much easier to befriend a Slytherin and injure them in a deserted hallway somewhere. If she couldn't get the Death-Eaters, she would get their children. But then she would recall Aunt Amelia's smile and see the increasing fear in her friend's eyes after an attack, and she would bottle up her emotions and shove it in the back of her head.

The last time she wanted to harm someone was during Hannah's wedding. She stared at the bride and groom, outwardly smiling but really screaming inside. Didn't Hannah know that she still loved Neville? Didn't she remember all the times she gushed on about him? Just as she thought her mask might crack, a hand at her elbow grounded her. She looked up to see her long-time friend, Ernie, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes staring intently at her.

The jealousy storming through her receded a bit and she smiled tentatively at him. She would be okay now.

Once, years and years ago, the Sorting Hat gave her a choice. She choose Hufflepuff.

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A/N: I know this may seem OOC, but it's not like we know anything about Susan Bones in the first place. This was mostly to explore the main theme in Harry Potter... about how our choices define us. I hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Mundugus Fletcher

That One Time

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Mundugus Fletcher hated cats. Actually, he hated all animals, but he particularly detested cats. They were scarily intelligent, viscous, and had claws that could shred your arm like it was made of paper. Not to mention their creepy eyes…

Shuddering, he recalled how there was a cat that stalked him for weeks on end when he was a child. It would smile at him when he managed to bring himself to look into its face. Half a year later, it disappeared. He still had traumatizing nightmares from that incident.

That was why when he encountered a ginger-coloured cat in an abandoned hallway of Grimmauld Place, he blanched and shot out of there. He could swear he saw the freaky thing smirking at him.


	6. Narcissa Black (2)

Passage of Time

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Narcissa didn't always love Lucius.

It had been a family obligation. The handsome heir of the prestigious Malfoy family had taken an interest in her, so of course she accepted the offer for her to go out with him. She didn't need Bella's eyes boring into her back to understand that simple fact.

And then, one day, in between their private sessions together, he asked her an unexpected question that completely broke the balance they had been standing on.

"Do you love me?"

Narcissa had long ago perfected the art of masking her emotions so the surprise she felt didn't show on her face when she replied, "Of course."

He regarded her warily. She was starting to get a little irritated at this point. What was the point of asking that question anyways? It was common knowledge that they were only doing it for the sake of continuing the pureblood legacy.

With a neutral smile on her face, she quietly excused herself from the chamber. It was only until she was alone that she allowed an ugly scowl to cross her face.

* * *

As expected, the pair continued their relationship throughout Hogwarts and throughout their twenties where finally, Lucius proposed to her. She accepted it.

Moving away from her childhood house was… odd, to say the least. But, the atmosphere was still the same. Too big mansion, empty corridors, hollow silence. Most of the time, she didn't even see her new husband.

However, on one of the rare occasions that they had dinner together, Narcissa found herself being surprised by the unexpected realization that came upon her.

"What wrong, Narcissa?" Lucius asked her when she didn't respond to her question.

She frowned, puzzled. "There's a warm feeling in my chest."

Lucius kept quiet while she thought about what the cause could be. Her face was scrunched up slightly in confusion, the only emotion other than haughtiness that had appeared on her face in years.

"I've got the answer now," Narcissa spoke suddenly, "I think… I think I might like you. You know, just a bit."

Lucius graced her with a smile that she couldn't quite pinpoint. His eyes seemed to have a mixture of relief, happiness, and exasperation. "Well, it only took me six years to accomplish this. Not too shabby."

Narcissa suppressed the smile that wanted to surface on her face.

Lucius glanced at his watched, then promptly stood up. "Sorry dear, there's a meeting I need to attend. Don't wait up." He gave her one last soft smile before striding out of the dining room.

Narcissa stayed put, ordering the house-elf to bring her a cup of tea. So, she liked Lucius. It was interesting and unusual, and maybe, just maybe, she might even love him in the future.


	7. Lycoris Black

Classic

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Lycoris Black.

To her mother, she was perfect. Beautiful, smart, traditional.

To her father, she was brilliant. Quiet, submissive, and cold.

In her brother's eyes, she was every bit the classic Black that had come generations before them. No better, and no worse.

In the dark of the night, however, she would change. Her black mask would melt right off as she snuck out a worn paperback book and dreamed of princes and fairy tales and happy endings. She would smile dreamily to herself, falling back asleep with white horses prancing through her mind.

And in the morning, as the sun rose sleepily, she would awaken with her disguise firmly in place, patiently waiting for the moment when the little girl could emerge again.


End file.
